


(Best) Friends

by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden)



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Brightwell, F/M, Fluff, Karaoke, Mutual Pining, Seriously very fluff, Sleepless nights, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, gratuitous Queen references, i am who i am, they are cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 09:21:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21177083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Of_Dresden/pseuds/ClaraCivry
Summary: Dani can't sleep, and calls Malcolm.Maybe more feelings than she wanted ensue.Brightwell fluff





	(Best) Friends

She can always count on Malcolm to be awake. No matter what hour, no matter what day, she knows he’ll be awake. Part of her felt bad about calling at this hour, because maybe he was actually asleep and maybe she was waking him up...

No. Dani knew that he silenced his phone and took every necessary precaution to sleep when he could. The fact that he picked up on the first ring told her that he wasn’t sleeping at all, probably as awake as she was.

“Bright? I need a distraction.”

“I’ll meet you!” he said, eager “Where?”

She gave him an address, put on a coat and walked.

She couldn’t sleep, her mind filled of thoughts, memories of friends she used to have, people she grew close to without wanting to, and many others that she left behind. Couldn’t save, couldn’t help. She’d been one of them, and then... She disappeared. Sometimes it was hard to separate who she was now and who she used to be. Who she pretended to be.

Dani knew that thinking about it, reminiscing was useless. That overthinking what she’d done and what she could have done better wasn’t going to help anyone or change anything. But still, in that bed, she couldn’t stop thinking about it, and was unable to fall asleep. If this is what Bright goes through every day... That poor man.

But maybe he could be helpful, he could provide some company, they would distract each other from such annoying insomnia. He was glad to be there, and she was glad to be with him too.

“What do you want to do?” Bright asked, and he shouldn’t have looked this good after only sleeping three hours in the last two days but... (It was the happiness of someone actually seeking out his company. So good. So unexpected, so great. Finally, someone in his lonely lonely nights)

“Not just talking. I need something more distracting.”

Malcolm’s big blue eyes moved around quickly, trying to figure something out.

“I don’t think there’s movies this late.... What about karaoke? People’s bad singing can be very distracting and we can go through the song lists, have a drink, maybe get our singing on? I’m sure my definitely lacking vocal skills will be enough to make you forget whatever’s haunting you.”

Dani was sometimes a bit spooked by how on point Bright always was. Yes, something had been haunting her which was why she couldn’t sleep. It had been the birthday of someone from her old life... Someone she hadn’t seen or heard about in very long, but that she cared for deeply. And was far away, and not just in what concerned distance. But Bright had noticed that, and immediately thought of something to help.

He was one of a kind, that boy. Weird and unpredictable, unhinged and creepy-ish sometimes, but oh so very sweet and adorable when he wanted to be. Clearly reading that she didn’t want to talk about what was keeping her up, Bright instead chose to tell her about all the karaoke places he’d ever been to, which evolved into a conversation about wild party nights. (Dani had more, but Bright’s were more... Unusual)

When they got to the karaoke place there was only another couple, a drunk man, and what was probably a professional singer that had a terrible non-artistic day job. Dani had a couple of drinks (strong stuff, because why not) and she and Bright started looking at the songs available to sing, and talked about the music, what was good, what was not (you don’t know this? You must!) and it was fun.

After hearing so much singing and encouraged by alcohol and lack of sleep, Dani and Malcolm decided that they had to sing something. But it was hard, finding something, because they didn’t want a love song (that was not today’s theme. Maybe some other day) and also not some sad ballad. No, today was not for longing. Today was for celebrating what they did have, the night, the music and some company.

“Queen has good tunes about friends.” Bright said, locating the band in the huge books. “We could do “__Friends will be friends__” if you know it? It’s a classic. Or__ we are the champions, my frieeend__?”

Dani nodded. That was very much the emotion she wanted to convey this night. From being in bed alone and trying to forget about people, trying to sleep and failing and just feeling horrible about the night, herself, the past, and that bed that seemed to suddenly hate her, so full of uncomfortable edges, hurting everywhere, too hot or too cold... But what was not this night. This was night was to be a champion. My friend.

Bright kept talking, excitedly pointing at titles. It was so damn good to have someone to talk to on his sleepless nights. He was getting excited.

“I mean, there’s also “__You’re my best friend__”, but I don’t think we’re quite there yet.”

Dani sighed, and looked at him.

“I don’t know, Bright. If I think about it, there’s a chance that you are my best friend.”

Malcolm’s heart nearly stopped right then and there, and he was positive that he’d stopped breathing. Not that being Dani’s best friend wasn’t exciting enough, but... He hadn’t meant it like that. He’d said that they weren’t quite there yet because this song was written by the bassist of the band about his wife. His wife he adored and spent the next fifty years of his life loving, but who was still, always his friend. Because love should be built on friendship. Because love was friendship with a cherry on top.

And probably Dani didn’t know about this, and thought that __you’re my best friend__ was simply about a very good friend... But the fact that she’d said that he was his best friend while discussing that song... There were some butterflies that shouldn’t be there, but Malcolm couldn’t drown them out.

Change the topic, Bright. Go back.

“What about__ I want to break free__? It’s one of my favourites.”

How many times had he thought to himself “you’re so self satisfied, I don’t need you” after visiting his father? Too many to count.

“I am feeling that. I really am.” Dani said - she really wanted to break free, she wanted a song that would be a catharsis that would let her get all that wasn’t letting her sleep. 

She hadn’t remembered that the song had a line that said “God knows I’ve fallen in love”. She hadn’t expected to be looking at Bright’s gorgeous eyes and his smiley face and she sang that. Definitely had never thought she would be feeling like a giddy teenager when she got out that night. And yet....

She couldn’t be falling in love with Bright, that was such a bad idea. He was always getting hurt, always in hospitals, being that invested in his health could be a nightmare. She couldn’t.... Bright was like a maze, complicated, full of twists and turns and she... Deep down, she loved it.

They also did Another one bites the dust and why not, Take on Me, to end on a happier note. Bright’s high notes were terrible. Dani couldn’t stop laughing, she never thought that a murder obsessed criminal profiler could be this absurdly cute. Fuck.

Then they said goodbye and Dani spoke those words that had been stuck in her throat as she watched him leave...

“You’re my best friend.”

It had a new meaning now.

A deeper meaning.

Fuck.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked! Thanks for reading!
> 
> You know you want to comment ;)


End file.
